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OMNS Announces a Special Public Forum on ASCVD:Can Heart Disease Be Prevented-or Even Reversed?ASCVD Revisited: From the Pauling-Levy Vascular Integrity Model to Integrative Orthomolecular Systems MedicineFeaturing Dr. Thomas E. Levy and Dr. Richard Z. Cheng The Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (OMNS) is pleased to announce a special public Zoom forum exploring one of medicine's most important questions: Can atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) be prevented-or even reversed? ASCVD remains the world's leading cause of death. Yet despite decades of research, important questions remain. Is ASCVD primarily a cholesterol disease? Or is it better understood as a disorder of vascular injury, impaired repair, and loss of vascular integrity? Can damaged arteries stabilize-or even heal? These questions will be explored during this special OMNS Public Forum. Event Information๐
Saturday, July 25, 2026
Registration (Free):
From the Pauling-Levy Vascular Integrity Model to Integrative Orthomolecular Systems MedicineFew physicians have contributed as significantly to orthomolecular cardiovascular medicine as Dr. Thomas E. Levy. Building upon the pioneering work of Linus Pauling, Dr. Levy developed the Pauling-Levy Vascular Integrity Model, emphasizing the central roles of vitamin C, oxidative stress, endothelial health, vascular integrity, and biological repair. Through landmark books such as Primal Panacea and Stop America's #1 Killer, he has inspired generations of physicians and health professionals to look beyond conventional cholesterol-centered thinking. During this forum, Dr. Levy will review the Pauling-Levy Vascular Integrity Model and discuss its implications for the prevention and management of ASCVD. Building upon the Pauling-Levy Vascular Integrity Model, Dr. Richard Z. Cheng will present Integrative Orthomolecular Systems Medicine (I-OM Systems Medicine), a broader systems framework that integrates orthomolecular medicine, metabolic medicine, low-carbohydrate nutrition, environmental medicine, systems biology, and healthy longevity medicine. Beyond CholesterolOver more than three decades of studying cardiovascular disease and chronic illness, Dr. Cheng became increasingly interested in why many seemingly different diseases-including ASCVD, obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer-appear to share common upstream biological drivers. This perspective was reinforced by his recent comprehensive preprint review, which synthesized approximately 280 peer-reviewed studies evaluating the major lipid and lipoprotein biomarkers in ASCVD (1). Based on this analysis, the review argues that while cholesterol and other lipid biomarkers remain valuable for assessing cardiovascular risk and guiding therapy, most represent downstream biomarkers or intermediate pathogenic mechanisms rather than the primary upstream biological drivers of disease. This perspective suggests that cardiovascular medicine has become increasingly successful at measuring lipid biology while important upstream biological processes remain incompletely understood. This raises a fundamental question: Has medicine spent more than half a century refining cholesterol measurements while overlooking the upstream biological processes that initiate vascular disease? A Systems Perspective on ASCVDRather than viewing ASCVD simply as a cholesterol disorder, Dr. Cheng will present a systems perspective that views atherosclerosis as the result of a long-term imbalance between vascular injury and vascular repair. Blood vessels are continually challenged by metabolic dysfunction, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, nutrient insufficiency, environmental toxins, smoking, chronic infections, hormonal dysregulation, and other biological stressors. When injury repeatedly exceeds the body's capacity for repair, vascular integrity gradually deteriorates and atherosclerosis develops. This shifts the central question from: "How do we lower cholesterol?" to: "How do we restore vascular integrity and the body's capacity for biological repair?" Dr. Cheng will also introduce and discuss several concepts within I-OM Systems Medicine, including the Insulin-Cortisol-Vitamin C (ICV) Framework (2), developed collaboratively by Drs. Richard Z. Cheng, Thomas E. Levy, and Ronald Hunninghake. The framework integrates metabolic, neuroendocrine, and redox regulation into a unified systems model and has recently completed peer review, with the manuscript currently undergoing final revision for publication in Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal (IMCJ). Dr. Cheng will also discuss the Three Functional Capacities Doctrine and a systems-based approach to understanding chronic disease through upstream root-driver analysis. He will conclude by discussing observations from a recently reported 10-patient ASCVD series, including two patients whose coronary CT angiography demonstrated progressive improvement and eventual disappearance of detectable coronary artery stenosis following a comprehensive Integrative Orthomolecular Medicine approach. While these observations do not constitute randomized clinical trial evidence, they raise important questions for future research: If arteries can progressively deteriorate, can they also heal? Two Perspectives-One GoalThis forum brings together two complementary perspectives on cardiovascular disease. Dr. Levy will present the foundational orthomolecular understanding of vitamin C, vascular integrity, and biological repair. Dr. Cheng will extend those concepts into the broader framework of Integrative Orthomolecular Systems Medicine, emphasizing upstream biological drivers, systems physiology, metabolic resilience, and restoration of the body's natural repair capacity. Together, these presentations illustrate an evolution-from understanding individual mechanisms to understanding the interconnected biological systems that influence cardiovascular health. Whether you are a physician, healthcare professional, researcher, student, or simply interested in cardiovascular health, we hope you will join us for this timely discussion. Register Today๐
Saturday, July 25, 2026
Registration (Free):
We look forward to welcoming you. Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD
References1. Cheng RZ. Beyond Cholesterol: A Comprehensive Integrative and Systems Medicine Reassessment of Lipid and Lipoprotein Biomarkers in ASCVD. Preprints. 2026;2026070008. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202607.0008.v1 2. Cheng RZ, Levy TE, Hunninghake R. The Insulin-Cortisol-Vitamin C Axis: A Missing Regulatory Framework in Metabolic and Hormonal Homeostasis: A Narrative Review. Preprints. 2025;2025120217. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202512.0217.v3 Reader Discussion and QuestionsOMNS welcomes comments, questions, ideas, experiences, and respectful dialogue from readers, patients, healthcare professionals, researchers, and students worldwide. We encourage participation on OMNS Interactive, where the exchange of knowledge and perspectives helps advance understanding and foster meaningful discussion. Join the conversation:
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